Wolfhuman

Guys, this has probably been said before but some maybe didn't catch it, lower your brightness. Most of you probably got the thing in the middle. But you got to have it until you can barely see the R* logo. And if you still see the R* fine, then lower your tv brightness. The game looks much better that way. Dark is dark and day feels more real, IMO. And IMO, it looks (looks) like the screens and trailers.

Just a friendly advice and here are some (wise) words:

Indeed and that's the shame of it. 99% of people don't give the brightness/gamma in-game setting any thought and they just rush through to play the game. Then they complain when it looks washed out and gray and ugly.

By getting it so that the logo is just barely visible, you are coming close to matching the settings they use in office when developing the game. In other words, the intended look of the game.

I totally agree with you. If you're driving a car with a dark-ish color at night, you shouldn't be able to tell what color it actually is (i.e. navy blue, black, brown etc.). That holds true when you go outside in real life and look at vehicles driving at night.

It also makes the flashlight attachment on weapons much, much more useful.

I was exploring Blaine County and realized that in real life some streets don't have lights yet I could see the entire world perfectly at 2:00am GTA time, so I adjusted the brightness at night to 6 points below the halfway point for night and exactly on half brightness during the day.

McGyver55

Maybe its just my screen but it looks a little too dark in those comparison pictures... the setting I have (default) seems about right for a city at night... although out in the country it seems like a full moon every night.

It would have been nice if Rockstar had carried through on that feature, although it was just an article where someone was quoting a Rockstar designer, one topic they claimed to be working on was a more realistic night... which it is if you only have full moons where you come from.

mastershake616

I totally agree with you. If you're driving a car with a dark-ish color at night, you shouldn't be able to tell what color it actually is (i.e. navy blue, black, brown etc.). That holds true when you go outside in real life and look at vehicles driving at night.

It also makes the flashlight attachment on weapons much, much more useful.

Ash_735

Yeah, and if possible, set your TV to Chroma 4:4:4 Mode (usually under "PC"), and pay attention to what Rockstar says "Full Range RGB", set both your console AND TV to that so it can display the full colour range without crushing blacks or dulling whites.

Wolfhuman

I totally agree with you. If you're driving a car with a dark-ish color at night, you shouldn't be able to tell what color it actually is (i.e. navy blue, black, brown etc.). That holds true when you go outside in real life and look at vehicles driving at night.

It also makes the flashlight attachment on weapons much, much more useful.

Yes, people indeed need to give it a shot. Now i am actually forced to use my carlight.

Yeah, and if possible, set your TV to Chroma 4:4:4 Mode (usually under "PC"), and pay attention to what Rockstar says "Full Range RGB", set both your console AND TV to that so it can display the full colour range without crushing blacks or dulling whites.

Giles Flaggot 1

I was exploring Blaine County and realized that in real life some streets don't have lights yet I could see the entire world perfectly at 2:00am GTA time, so I adjusted the brightness at night to 6 points below the halfway point for night and exactly on half brightness during the day.

Wolfhuman

Normal brightness in game(like recommended), lower brightness on TV and less saturation?

I've been struggling with finding the perfect combinations on my tv. I'll try this

Sadly enough i can't make a picture of mine brightness because the phone camera won't work so well. If you can see the logo good without any struggle then the brightness is probably too high. Lower your in game brightness until you barely can see the R* logo. If you can still can see the R* logo without a problem or struggle then you need to lower the brightness of your tv. So the logo needs to be not so visible, barely visible. You need to struggle a bit to see the logo (but not too much struggle tho, haha). Hope it helps. It makes the game much more beautiful.

Hey!

This was one of the first things I did when I started playing.

I was exploring Blaine County and realized that in real life some streets don't have lights yet I could see the entire world perfectly at 2:00am GTA time, so I adjusted the brightness at night to 6 points below the halfway point for night and exactly on half brightness during the day.

DaRkL3AD3R

Yeah I did this a while ago. The game just looks terrible on the default setting.

Indeed and that's the shame of it. 99% of people don't give the brightness/gamma in-game setting any thought and they just rush through to play the game. Then they complain when it looks washed out and gray and ugly.

Basically, pro tip for anyone out there looking to get proper colors/lighting out of their games: find your monitor/tv's sweet spot using something simple, like a color/brightness slider on a PC. Tune your screen, then never touch it again. Now every game you play, go into the settings and they usually include a logo of some sort that. You ALWAYS want this logo to be "just barely" visible. This is like industry standard. If their logo is mega bright and easy to see, almost like it's an advertising logo, then you're doing it wrong.

The reason they do this is because of varying screen settings and quality. By having the symbol there, they give you a mark to shoot for. By getting it so that the logo is just barely visible, you are coming close to matching the settings they use in office when developing the game. In other words, the intended look of the game.

I really don't know how people can just ignore this. The default in-game brightness setting is pretty much overblown for nearly all screens out there. I've tried hooking up my system to multiple tvs and screens and the result was always washed out ugly images.

So take Wolfhuman's advice guys. If you haven't touched this setting yet, you really need to do so.

Wolfhuman

Yeah I did this a while ago. The game just looks terrible on the default setting.

Indeed and that's the shame of it. 99% of people don't give the brightness/gamma in-game setting any thought and they just rush through to play the game. Then they complain when it looks washed out and gray and ugly.

Basically, pro tip for anyone out there looking to get proper colors/lighting out of their games: find your monitor/tv's sweet spot using something simple, like a color/brightness slider on a PC. Tune your screen, then never touch it again. Now every game you play, go into the settings and they usually include a logo of some sort that. You ALWAYS want this logo to be "just barely" visible. This is like industry standard. If their logo is mega bright and easy to see, almost like it's an advertising logo, then you're doing it wrong.

The reason they do this is because of varying screen settings and quality. By having the symbol there, they give you a mark to shoot for. By getting it so that the logo is just barely visible, you are coming close to matching the settings they use in office when developing the game. In other words, the intended look of the game.

I really don't know how people can just ignore this. The default in-game brightness setting is pretty much overblown for nearly all screens out there. I've tried hooking up my system to multiple tvs and screens and the result was always washed out ugly images.

So take Wolfhuman's advice guys. If you haven't touched this setting yet, you really need to do so.

Yep, I found it weird that the night was not so dark. I didn't have to use the car headlights. But now, they are pretty useful. I feel that the brightness topics need to be pinned because its sad if people don't have it the right way. I don't know if i should say this but i think since we are living in the time where graphics also plays a role: This can make or break the game. Like i said, i don't know really if i should say that but i think it is the case. The game feels much more real and alive with the adjusted brightness.

Ash_735

For those of you not sure if your TV and Console are outputting FULL RANGE RGB, use this image below, store it on your console by USB on something and display it full screen and mess around with your console settings and TV settings until it displays the wide range properly:

For Xbox 360 users, in the Display Settings, select HDMI Range to "EXPANDED". For PS3 Users, go to Display Settings, and set RGB Range Output to "FULL". From there on it's owrking out what your TV does and how it treats the image under what settings.

DaRkL3AD3R

Here's some more pics to show it adjusted perfect for my monitor. Particularly note the color difference between the comparisons, how washed out and gray the default brightness setting looks and how colorful and vivid the adjusted one is.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I really like this last one, because it shows an effect that naturally occurs when we look into the sun, or try to take a photo pointing in the direction of the sun as well. Due to the immense brightness of the sun, we have to squint and darken our vision/the camera has to use a faster shutter speed to deal with the intense brightness. This has the effect of causing everything else to become overly darkened. This is another example of the extremely high quality high dynamic range and adaptive exposure we have in GTA V.

Another sweet way to see this in action is on a bright sunny day, go underground in the canals near Del Perro Pier. As your in-game eyes adjust to the darkness, turn around and look at the tunnel exit. It should look bright and bloomed out. This is a great effect and it looks gorgeous in a Rockstar game. GTA V's technical aspects get a 10/10 from me.

Wolfhuman

Here's some more pics to show it adjusted perfect for my monitor. Particularly note the color difference between the comparisons, how washed out and gray the default brightness setting looks and how colorful and vivid the adjusted one is.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I really like this last one, because it shows an effect that naturally occurs when we look into the sun, or try to take a photo pointing in the direction of the sun as well. Due to the immense brightness of the sun, we have to squint and darken our vision/the camera has to use a faster shutter speed to deal with the intense brightness. This has the effect of causing everything else to become overly darkened. This is another example of the extremely high quality high dynamic range and adaptive exposure we have in GTA V.

Another sweet way to see this in action is on a bright sunny day, go underground in the canals near Del Perro Pier. As your in-game eyes adjust to the darkness, turn around and look at the tunnel exit. It should look bright and bloomed out. This is a great effect and it looks gorgeous in a Rockstar game. GTA V's technical aspects get a 10/10 from me.

Holy! Are those pics from real life? lol. Looks great! I feel sad for everyone that is playing with the washed out screen!

killahmatic

I did this back in RDR. Messed with the contrast too. It made RDR feel like a brand new game again. Haven't tried it on V, but i might. That first picture seems too dark though, because surrounding light and the magic of our eyes would make it brighter.